Captain America and Batgirl

For a friend's birthday party, Austin gave him a Captain America shield and for the next couple days all he talked about was how that was the best present and how bad that he wanted one. So I told him that if he really wanted one then he would have to earn enough money to get one. So I made a chore chart and he worked hard earning money and was super excited when he finally earned enough money to go to the store and get his own Captain America shield (and nice daddy threw in the masks as a bonus). Hopefully this small example taught him a little bit about the principle of work and that money doesn't just grow on trees.



Swim Lessons

The kids completed 2 sessions (4 weeks) of swim lessons this summer and made some major improvements in the water because of it. Austin was in the LionFish class and worked hard on his glides, freestyle, backstroke, switching strokes, and sit dive. He learned everything so quickly and checked everything off on the list except retrieving toys from the bottom of the pool and his back glide.

So for the next 2 weeks we practiced those things on our own and then took another session of swim lessons. Austin was so excited when he got his card this time. He came over to me and said "Mom, I got a check on everything!!" He was real proud of himself. He has really become quite a good little swimmer and next time with be in the Dolphin class.

This was Kayla's first time to do swim lessons. She was in the PreSchool class and for the first 3 days of she wouldn't let go of the teacher to stand on the water table in the middle of the pool. Finally she got brave enough and made big improvements the next week of swim lessons. She learned how to slide into the water, blowing bubbles, bobbing up and down, kicking with straight legss, reaching for the wall, stretching out, and jumping in. Although she was a little timid about getting her eyes wet she still passed the preschool class.

So we spent a couple weeks encouraging Kayla to get all of her face in the water and then she started swim lessons in the Starfish class. She worked on bobs and bubbles, jumping in, front/back floats, and kicking with straight legs. She still was nervous about putting her whole face in the water. Whenever her teacher asked her to do that she would put her face in and out of the water as fast as she could. Kayla did a great job going to her swim class and was excited everyday about it!!

4th of July

 Hope everyone had a great holiday. We enjoyed going out to Papa Dave's house for swimming and a barbecue followed by fireworks at the Vaclaw's.

Every year my kids gets super excited about getting new flag shirts. They LOVE them!!

 My cute kids with their cute cousins.

 This firework show is spectacular. Above are the flag laterns that were let go as the Star Spangeled Banner was being sung.

 Kids getting ready to watch the firework show. The last 2 years Kayla has covered her ears and eyes during the fireworks but this year she actually was able to enjoy the show.

 The show was entertaining, beautiful, and inspiring. The finale fireworks were accompanied by the song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and it was amazing!!!

Kiddie Park

We have made it to the Kiddie Park several times this summer. We always have lots of fun!

 The Little Dipper Roller Coaster.....Kayla is in the 3rd row with her dad.

 The roller coaster is Austin's favorite ride at the Kiddie Park.

 Kayla really likes the swings.

 This year Austin is able to manuever the bumper cars on his own.

 While Kayla rides on the little cars.

 Enjoying the rocking ship together

 Austin with his cousin Tyler on the carosel

 Kayla with her cousin Rachel on the boats.....this ride moves so slow but for some reason this is also one of Kayla's favorite rides.

 Riding the ferris wheel is always fun.

 Yummy rainbow snowcones.

 Austin actually took this pic of me and Craig together.

 Kayla and Kambria hanging out in line.

Austin and Braxton (school friend) also enjoying the kiddie park together.

 Riding on the turtle coaster with cousins

Such easy, cheap, and great entertainment......and these kids LOVE it!!!

Tulsa Color Run

 On Saturday, June 23rd, we headed down to Tulsa to run
 in The Color Run aka The Happiest 5K on The Planet.

 Here we are looking pretty happy......and clean (but not for long).

 There are so many participants running so every 10 minutes they let 1,000 runners begin.....the run started at 8:00 am. but we didn't get running until about 9:00 a.m.

After every kilometer there is a Color Zone where you get splattered with COLOR.

1 K Color Zone = yellow

2 K Color Zone = green

3 K Color Zone = blue

4 K Color Zone = pink

Then after passing the finish line the participants gather together for the 5 K Color Zone. On the count of 3 everyone releases their color packets into the air.  

And here is the end result

I always wondered what I would look like as a blond (luckily it all washed out pretty easy).

Colorific!!!

It was super fun doing getting to do this run with my sister-in-laws.

Summer Fun

The summer is passing fast!! Besides spending lots of time in the water (more on that later), here are some of the fun things we have done during the month of June.

 We went to Sunfest and the kids enjoyed getting up close and personal with some reptiles.

 Yes.....that is a yellow snake.

 Even Kayla got brave enough to touch the alligator.

 Puzzle time on a sunday evening....glad these kids are friends (most of the time).

 We went to KidsFest at Woolaroc when my sister and brother were in town. The kids enjoyed the petting zoo. This baby cow wasn't scared of the kids at all and was licking their hands.

 Looking at the baby chicks.

 Craig and my brother Brandon shooting hoops

 The kids LOVED the inflatable slides

 Batter up!

 Nice hit!!

 Homerun!!!

 Digging for hidden treasures.

 And you can't go to Woolaroc and not feed this buffalo

(It is a statue that you feed trash to......so funny).

 My niece, Jessica, spent the week in town for Grandma's week. We went Go-Karting together and had a great time! 

 Last year Kayla was not a fan of this activity but enjoyed herself this time.

 Watch out for this pre-teen driver.

Me and my (not so) little-man!

We also took a day to go down to Stillwater for a couple reasons. Craig, my dad, and my brother Brandon wanted to play Stillwater's frisbee golf course which is a good one. We also stopped to eat dinner at the famous Eskimo Joes!!

The kids are also taking a gymnastic class twice a week for the summer and they love it!! It is a great way to get out some of their energy plus they are learning new things: rolls, kartwheels, headstands, balance beam, trampoline, parallel bars, uneven bars, still rings, and jumping into the foam pit (probably their favorite). For their spotlight on parent day, Austin performed a tri-pod in front of everyone and Kayla performed a forward roll. They finished with a "tada" pose and received a medal.